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2006

Parenting styles and parents' attitudes toward learning and Parenting styles and parents' attitudes toward learning and

performance in their children performance in their children

Chaoping Violet Wang

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Recommended Citation Recommended Citation Wang, Chaoping Violet, "Parenting styles and parents' attitudes toward learning and performance in their children" (2006). Theses Digitization Project. 3048. https://scholarworks.lib.csusb.edu/etd-project/3048

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PARENTING STYLES AND PARENTS' ATTITUDES TOWARD

LEARNING AND PERFORMANCE IN THEIR CHILDREN

A Thesis

Presented to the

Faculty of

California State University,

San Bernardino

In Partial Fulfillment

of the Requirements for the Degree

Masters of Arts

in

Psychology:

Child Development

by

Chaoping Violet Wang

December 2006

PARENTING STYLES AND PARENTS' ATTITUDES TOWARD

LEARNING AND PERFORMANCE IN THEIR CHILDREN

A Thesis

Presented to the

Faculty of

California State University,

San Bernardino

by

Chaoping Violet Wang

December 2006

Approved by:

Chair,Psychofogy Daten I 3 o|

ABSTRACT

The current research attempted to show that parenting

styles are directly related to parents' goals (learning or

performance) with respect to their children's education.

Parents' goals, and the behaviors they motivate, were

assumed to be a mechanism accounting for well-established

effects of parenting style on children's school

achievement. In the authoritative style, parents frequently

take the time to explain particular rules and guidelines as

well as recognizing their roles and responsibilities in

addition to those of their children. By contrast, the

authoritarian style of parenting places more significance

on obedience; these parents seldom exhibit warmth and tend

to be cold, harsh, and non-supportive. It was expected that

authoritative parents would be more likely to adopt a

learning goal orientation with their children. On the

contrary, it was expected that authoritarian parents would

be more likely to adopt a performance goal orientation with

their children. The sample consisted of 223 undergraduate

college mothers enrolled in psychology courses. The results

indicated that parents' use of an authoritative style was

positively related to their adoption of learning goals with

respect to their child, as evident, for example, in their

ii-i

use of a process focus and indirect homework assistance

strategies. Moreover, mothers' use of an authoritarian

style was positively related to their adoption of

performance goals, as evident in their use of a product

focus. Results are discussed in terms of goal theory and

the limitations of self-report methods.

iv

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I want first to acknowledge with special thanks and

appreciation the contribution of Dr. Robert Ricco,

California State University-San Bernardino, who helped and

supported with the overall research of this study. Dr.

Ricco has tremendously placed a lot of time and effort in

helping me complete this study by creating the basis for

the survey questionnaires and data collection process. I

greatly appreciate the patience and understanding of the

thesis advisor role that he has played, even in times of

hardship.

Next, it is important to note the contributions from

Dr. Yuchiri Chien, California State University-San

Bernardino and Dr. Laura Kamptner, California State

University-San Bernardino for their professional counsel,

advices and suggestions. Dr. Chien and Dr. Kamptner have

both taken the time and effort to support this research

with their busy schedules. Their advices and suggestions

has brought this research from where it was to its' final

destination.

v

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ABSTRACT ............................................ iii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .................................... V

LIST OF TABLES ................... -.................. viii

CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION

Overview ....................................... 1

Goal Orientation in Children and Adults ........ 3

Parenting Styles and Parent GoalOrientation .................................... 9

CHAPTER TWO: METHOD

Participants ................................... 19

General Procedures ............................. 20

Measures............... ....................... 21

CHAPTER THREE: RESULTS

Relation of Parent Goals toParenting Styles ............................... 29

Regression Analysis of Parenting Styles ......... 31

CHAPTER FOUR: DISCUSSION

Summary of Results ............................. 34

Limitations and Future Directions .............. 41

APPENDIX A: PARENTAL ATTITUDE QUESTIONNAIRE SURVEY.... 44

APPENDIX B: PARENT GOAL FOR CHILD SURVEY...'.......... 48

APPENDIX C: PROCESS FOCUS ANDPERSON/PRODUCT FOCUS SCALES SURVEY....... 51

vi

APPENDIX D: HOMEWORK ASSISTANCE SCALE SURVEY.......... 54

APPENDIX E: PREFERRED SCHOOL SUCCESS AND FEEDBACK SURVEY...................... 57

REFERENCES ......................................... 59

vii

LIST OF TABLES

Table 1. Correlations of parent goal measures with parenting style............... 31

viii

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

Overview

A number of research studies have shown that parenting

styles are linked to levels of achievement and learning in

children (e.g., Chen, Dong & Zhou, 1997; Gottfried, Fleming

& Gottfried, 1994; Gonzales, Greenwood & Hsu, 2001;

Gonzales, Holbein & Quilter, 2002; Grolnick & Ryan, 1989).

However, the mechanism by which these parenting styles

might influence learning and achievement has not been

established. One possibility is that these overall styles

engender or foster a specific goal orientation in parents

that is then manifested in specific interactions with

children such as homework assistance or providing

evaluative feedback about their child's school activities.

Some parenting styles may lead parents to develop more of a

learning goal orientation with respect to their child while

others may move parents toward more of a performance goal

orientation. According to Ricco, McCollum & Schuyten

(2003), college mothers' endorsement of learning goals,

their use of child-centered, indirect assistance strategies

with their children, and their adoption of a process focus

1

in making evaluative statements are positively related

to their children's attitudes towards learning.

The purpose of the current study was to show that

parenting styles are directly related to parents' goals

(learning or performance) with respect to their child's

education. These goals will be assessed in a variety of

ways. As a direct measure, we will present parents with

statements describing learning and performance goals and

ask parents to indicate the extent to which they endorse

these. As indirect measures, we will have parents self­

report on the specific homework assistance strategies they

favor, the approach they utilize in providing feedback and

evaluation, and whether or not they believe that their

efforts are having success in supporting their child's

learning. The current study will assume that parents'

academic goal orientation (learning versus performance), in

turn, influences their child's goal orientation thereby

producing the relationships that have been found between

parenting styles and children's academic outcomes. Prior

evidence to this effect will be discussed below. In the

current study, we will focus mainly on two parenting styles

- authoritative and authoritarian parenting.

2

Goal Orientation In Children And Adults

Research on achievement orientation indicates that

there are two general categories of goals that students

adopt in an academic setting - learning (or mastery) goals

and performance goals (Kaplan, 2002; Midgley, Laplan,

Middleton, & Maehr, 1998). Students who adopt learning

goals interpret challenging activities as opportunities to

advance one's skills and learning in an area. These

students are intrinsically motivated and possess a positive

attitude when challenging tasks are presented before them

(Gonzales et al., 2002). Students with a learning goal

orientation often consider that their ability in an area

can be improved through effort (incremental theory of

ability). They are self-motivated and genuinely interested

in mastering new skills and contents while persisting in

the face of frustration and challenge during the learning

process (mastery behavior). Learning-goal-oriented students

often speak up in class and offer questions to challenge

the status quo (Elliot & Church, 1997).

It is generally acknowledged that there are two types

of performance goals - performance-approach and

performance-avoidance goals (Pintrich, 2000; Ricco et al.,

2003). Students adopting a performance orientation see

3

academic tasks as opportunities to obtain tangible evidence

of their competence or ability level in a particular area.

The extrinsic reward of looking good or not looking bad to

oneself and others takes precedence over any inherent

interest in a task and may take precedence over learning

(Kanriol & Ross, 1977; Pintrich & De Groot, 1990). Children $

who adopt performance goals perceive their intelligence and

ability as relatively fixed. They believe that people are

born with a certain amount of intelligence or ability,

which cannot be changed through effort (Gonzales et al.

2001). These children's preference in choosing tasks and

problem solving approaches is based upon their concerns in

regards to their own competence level and proving

themselves to be adequate or, at least, not inadequate

(Dweck, 1986). Students maintaining performance-approach

goals want to outperform and execute better than others

while sticking with tasks that are familiar. Students in

this category often put forth less effort and are less

likely to persist if they encounter significant obstacles.

Frequently, these students are generally interested in

learning but they are more strategically concerned about

their grades while unwilling to take risks (Elliot &

Church, 1997) unless they are very confident of their

4

capabilities. In contrast, students with a performance­

avoidance orientation circumvent challenging tasks,

regularly fail to strategize proper problem solving

techniques, and tend to breakdown in the face of sustained

failure. Feelings of being inferior and a tendency to

attribute failure to lack of ability best characterize the

performance-avoidant student (Ames, 1984).

Previous research (e.g., Ames, 1992; Ames & Archer,

1987; Dweck, 1986; Kamins & Dweck, 1999; Ricco et al.,

2003) has suggested a variety of methods by which parents'

own achievement goal orientations might influence their

child's achievement goals. For instance, the teaching

strategy a parent employs when assisting the child on

homework and the type of evaluation the parent provides the

child vary as a function of the parents' goal orientation

(Ricco et al., 2003). Parental engagement in homework

assistance is an example of the most immediate, face-to-

face form of parental involvement in the child's life,

facilitating and supporting their overall sense of well

being (Balli, Demo & Wedman, 1998). Parents who have a

learning goal orientation tend to favor indirect teaching

strategies when providing the child with homework

assistance. Specifically, the responsibility for completing

5

the academic task is seen as resting with the child while

the parents act as a resource to provide support and

guidance. Parents utilizing these strategies frequently

offer their children a high level of guidance (Renshaw &

Gardner, 1990). Indirect teaching strategies are considered

student-centered while stressing the importance of self­

pacing, patience, and the Use of trial and error. These

strategies help promote a sense of creative thinking in

children so that they can consider different forms of

strategic approaches to a dilemma and discover new concepts

at the same time (Ricco et al., 2003). Moreover, this style

of assistance enables children to integrate new ideas and

materials with what they already possess. Indirect teaching

strategies are often time-consuming due to the use of

questions and informative statements rather than a

directive for the child to arrive at. the correct

conclusion.

Learning-goal-oriented parents also tend to adopt a

process focus in providing evaluative feedback. Learning-

oriented parents frequently value their child's effort and

perseverance while errors and mistakes are viewed as part

of the learning experience and serve as informative guides

(Kaplan, 2002; Gonzales et al., 2002). When providing

6

evaluative feedback, these parents emphasize the learning

process rather than meeting objective standards of academic

accomplishment. Furthermore, these parents view success as

the consequence of the child's efforts rather than innate

ability. This process focus emphasizes personal

improvement, effort, strategy, and the approach to the

problem (Kaplan, 2002). Thus the learning-oriented parent

often acts as an indirect resource to guide the child in a

verbal and nonverbal manner during the learning experience

(Renshaw & Gardner, 1990). For instance, the use of praise

and criticism varies depending on a parent's goal

orientation and may establish and influence the child's

sense of self-worth (Kamins & Dweck, 1999). Learning-

oriented parents direct their praise and criticism towards

effort, the approach to the problem, or the required skill

or knowledge (Ricco et al., 2003). The main focus is to

have the child explore and learn through discovery. The

adoption of a process focus by parents is associated with

positive attitudes towards learning in children (Ricco et

al., 2003).

Renshaw & Gardner (1990) suggest that parents with a

performance goal orientation frequently employ direct

teaching strategies and provide person- or product-based

7

feedback. A direct teaching strategy is adult-centered and

takes away the responsibility for task completion from the

child thereby eliminating the need for development and

improvement. These parents are more controlling and this

technique may ensure immediate, tangible evidence of

adequacy - but not necessarily long-term learning (Ricco et

al., 2003). Performance-oriented parents often downplay the

opportunity for exploration and the critical thinking steps

potentially present in an academic task. Children are

frequently, halted from utilizing an erroneous approach

rather than being permitted to discover this on their own.

The child may be told of the correct solution or the

specific path to take in order to arrive at the conclusion

without further explanation concerning the strategies or

methods involved (Gonzales et al., 2001).

Performance-oriented parents regularly employ a

person/product focus in providing feedback and evaluation.

This method is focused on meeting school or social

standards of performance. Normative standards would

frequently include grades, test scores, praise from

teachers and administrators, as well as being compared with

high achieving peers (Ames & Archer, 1987). Mistakes and

errors are viewed as failures and parents who provide this

8

kind of feedback convey the notion that performance is a

direct measure of ability, thus neglecting the role of

effort. Children exposed to person/product feedback

eventually develop a sense of contingent self-worth by

focusing on traits that measure their performance. Hence,

this strategy can create vulnerability and influence the

perception of the child's self-worth when faced with

performance setbacks (Kamins & Dweck, 1999). Product-

focused parents are somewhat insecure about their skills

and abilities in guiding their children. They tend to be

more anxious and concerned with the developmental progress

of their children (Renshaw & Gardner, 1990).

Parenting Styles And Parent Goal Orientation

Parenting style often provides a significant indicator

of parental influence that can in turn predict the well

being of a child (Baumrind, 1967). The three parenting

styles as developed by Diana Baumrind (1967) differ in

their approaches, values and behaviors. They also differ in

the principles that children are expected to adopt, the

ways in which these values, behaviors and principles are

transmitted, and in parents' expectations regarding the

behavior of their child (Dornbusch, Ritter, Leiderman,

9

Roberts & Fraleigh, 1987). The three traditional parenting

styles are authoritative, authoritarian and permissive

(Baumrind, 1967; Gonzales et al., 2001; Chen et al., 1997).

However, as mentioned before, this research study will

focus on the authoritative and authoritarian styles of

parenting and the mechanisms by which it is linked to the

level of achievement and learning in children.

In the authoritative style, parents explain particular

rules and guidelines as well as placing less emphasis on

strict compliance. Authoritative parents regularly

encourage conversational exchanges with their children

while being flexible in response to the child's

contributions (Gonzales et al., 2001). Parents employing

this style also take the time and effort to discuss with

the child the reasoning behind their guidance.

Authoritative parents often tend to value both expressive

and instrumental attributes in addition to autonomous

decision-making and disciplined conformity by the child

(Baumrind, 1967). This parenting style is typically

reflected in the frequent employment of supportive and

inductive techniques in child rearing (Chen et al., 1997).

Authoritative parents frequently exert firm control at

points of parent-child divergence but do not hinder

10

autonomous development with relentless restrictions

(Dornbusch et al., 1987). In addition, authoritative

parents recognize their own role and responsibilities as

adults while at the same time being aware of the child's

individual needs and interests (Gonzales et al., 2002).

Baumrind (1967, 1971) suggests this parenting style is one

that clearly involves high parental demands, emotional

responsiveness, and recognition of the child's individual

needs. Moreover, authoritative parents regularly manage

their child's activities, but in a rational issue-oriented

way due to the fact that they are concerned with the

child's personal mastery skills (Ginsburg & Bronstein,

1993). These parents also affirm the child's individual

qualities, attributes and assets, while also setting

standards and guidelines to direct the child (Chen, et al.,

1997).

Authoritative parenting is one of the most consistent

family predictors of competence from early childhood

through adolescence (Baumrind, 1967). Placing more

importance on fostering a child's sense of autonomy may

help prepare children for an academic environment that

requires self-regulated behavior and may help children

develop the sense of intrinsic motivation that underlies

11

mastery goal behaviors (Gonzales, et al., 2002).

Authoritative parents are more inclined to accept the

child's uniqueness and provide love, respect and feelings

of equality; this would result in the child being able to

experience and develop their own strength by conquering

challenges and finding satisfaction in their achievements

and contributions (Dominguez & Carton, 1997; Grolnick &

Ryan, 1989) . Children from authoritative households exhibit

more adaptive patterns of achievement motivation

characterized by seeking challenging tasks and high,

effective persistence in the face of obstacles (Dweck,

1986). Students are frequently encouraged to correct

mistakes and to find significance in their work (Buri,

Louiselle, Misukanis, & Mueller, 1988). Students are also

offered reasonable progressive challenges and permitted to

develop their own personal strategy/approach to problem

solving. Thus, parents who employ the authoritative

parenting style have children who are concerned with

academic engagement in school, improving their ability,

increasing their self-reliance, and reaching personal

mastery (Dominguez & Carton, 1997; Gonzales et al., 2001).

Likewise, previous research has found that the

12

authoritative parenting style is positively related to

children's academic performance (Chen et al., 1997).

The authoritative style of parenting would seem to

entail or imply the adoption of learning goals by a parent

with respect to their child's education. This is suggested

by the above findings that this parenting style promotes

positive attitudes towards learning in children and the

fact that the use of indirect strategies and process

feedback are each consistent with the emphasis on autonomy,

self-regulation, and guided learning that typify

authoritative parenting (Kamins & Dweck, 1999).

By contrast, the authoritarian style of parenting

places more significance on obedience. Authoritarian

parents do not exhibit warmth and tend to be cold, harsh,

and non-supportive. They frequently tend to shape, control,

and evaluate the behavior and attitudes of the child in

accordance with a set of standards of conduct (Baumrind,

1967). They often emphasize and value strict obedience as

an asset and favor punitive, forceful measures to curb

self-will at points where the child's actions or beliefs

conflict with what the parents perceive as correct or

appropriate conduct (Baumrind, 1967; Chen et al., 1997;

Gonzales et al., 2001; Gonzales et al., 2002).

13

Authoritarian parents emphasize and value respect,

preservation of order and authority, discipline, and

punishment. Moreover, they do not encourage or accept

verbal give and take because they frequently consider their

decision to be final whether at home, social gatherings, or

even in school (Clayton & Rowley, 2004). This parenting

style seems to be associated with children who exhibit

extrinsic motivational values, maintain a sense of

dependence on authority figures, and possess a tendency to

withdraw from difficult academic events and activities

(Gonzales et al., 2001). These children are often concerned

with pleasing their parents or an authority figure by

aiming to prove their ability, performing better than

others, and being smarter than their peers with little or

no concern for personal mastery (Pintrich, 2000). Children

raised in authoritarian homes are thus likely to have a

performance orientation and performance-avoidant goals.

It seems likely that authoritarian parenting styles

engender in parents a focus on performance rather than

learning. That is, it seems likely that authoritarian

parents would employ direct homework assistance strategies

and product- focused evaluation techniques while attempting

to control the child's approach to academic tasks (Times &

14

Archer, 1987; Kamins & Dweck, 1999; Renshaw & Gardner,

1990). With direct teaching strategies, much of the

responsibility in the problem solving process is taken away

from the child. The child is placed in a passive role where

they are not actively participating in the problem solving

process (Dominguez & Carton, 1997). At the same time,

direct teaching strategies do not provide the child with

guidance about the necessary procedures to take should an

error occur. Similarly, parents using these strategies(display a significant sense of impatience as well as

frustration in the child and with themselves (Gonzales et

al., 2001). These characteristics are consistent with an

authoritarian style. Arguably, authoritarian parents do not

enable their children to become active participants in the

problem solving process, as they take away their

opportunity to build self-reliance and independence

(Renshaw & Gardner, 1990). Authoritarian parents seldom

recognize their roles as facilitators of their child's

efforts to actively engage the learning environment.

Authoritarian parents' high demands combined with low

warmth may force children to experience less pleasure in

their tasks and subsequently discourages exploratory

learning (Chen et al., 1997). In other words, persistence

15

and perseverance are not encouraged whereas conformity and

helplessness are induced. Authoritarian parents would

expected to be more concerned that their children prove

their ability rather than improving their skills.. They push

their children to meet performance standards such as grades

or test scores and tend to compare the child's abilities to

those of their peers (Dweck & Elliot, 1983; Gonzales et

al., 2001; Gottfried et al., 1994; Pintrich, 2000).

Authoritarian parents are less warm and comforting due to

the fact that they perceive the child's success as a

measure of their own self-worth.

To summarize, then, previous research (e.g., Chen et

al., 1997; Gonzales et al., 2001; Gonzales et al., 2002;

Gottfried et al., 1994; Grolnick & Ryan, 1989) has

suggested that Baumrind's parenting styles are linked to

levels of achievement and learning in children, but the

mechanism by which these parenting styles might influence

learning and achievement is less clearly established. The

present study proposes that parenting style influences

children's achievement by leading parents to adopt a

particular goal orientation in their interactions with

their child. The purpose of the current study is to

establish a relationship between college mothers' parenting

16

styles/practices and their attitudes toward learning and

performance in their children. It was expected that college

mothers who describe themselves as using a more

authoritative style of parenting will be more likely to

adopt a learning goal orientation with their child. This

orientation should be evident in their: 1. choice of

learning goals over performance goals with respect to their

child's education, 2. tendency to prefer a process focus

and the use of indirect assistance strategies in

interacting with their child, and 3. preference for

learning-oriented feedback and criteria of success. On the

other hand, college mothers who report more of an

authoritarian parenting style will be more likely to adopt

a performance goal orientation with their child. This

orientation should be evident in their: 1. choice of

performance goals over learning goals with respect to their

child's education, 2. tendency to prefer a product focus

and the use of more direct assistance strategies in

interacting with their child, and 3. preference for

performance-oriented feedback and criteria of success.

Stated in terms of correlation-based analyses, it was

expected that mothers' use of authoritative parenting will

be positively related to their endorsement of learning

17

goals, a process focus, indirect strategies of assistance,

and learning-oriented feedback, and will be negatively

related to their endorsement of performance goals and a

product focus. It was also expected that mothers' use of

authoritarian parenting will be positively related to their

endorsement of performance goals and a product focus and

negatively related to their endorsement of learning goals,

a process focus, indirect strategies, and learning-oriented

feedback.'

T8

CHAPTER TWO

METHOD

Participants

The sample for this study consisted of 223, working­

class mothers (median family income of 30K to 40K) enrolled

in undergraduate Psychology courses at a California State

University campus in Southern California. All mothers had a

child between the ages of 6 and 12 years. Participants

ranged in age from 20 to 64 years (Mean Age = 32 years; SD

= 7.64). Over half of the participants (N=124) were single

mothers. Also, 98 were Caucasian, 30 were African American,

82 were Hispanic, 6 were Asian, 2 were Pacific Islander,

and 5 were of mixed ethnicity. Approximately 86% of the

mothers were biologically related to their child. All

participants reported providing at least some homework

assistance to their child on a regular basis (mean time

spent helping on homework per week = 160.97 minutes; SD =

134.88). The children serving as the focus of the mothers'

responses ranged in age from 6 to 12 years (mean age = 8.56

years; SD = 2.12). There were 112 girls and 111 boys.

19

General Procedures

Participants received all measures in the form of a

questionnaire and were tested individually in the human

development behavioral lab (SB-143) at the university. The

order of the individual measures was randomized within and

across participants and the procedure lasted about 40

minutes. In this study, the following materials were used:

one informed consent form, one demographic sheet, one

parenting measurement packet, and a debriefing statement.

The informed consent form explained the purpose of the

study and informed parents that they were to select one of

their children in the 6-12 range and consistently respond

to the questionnaire as it related to that particular

child. Moreover, in the event that a participant had more

than one child within this age range, the instructions

specified that she was to select the child with whom she

spends the most time assisting with homework activities. At

the conclusion of the study, each participant received a

written debriefing statement, were thanked for their

participation, and provided with appropriate contact

numbers.

20

Measures

In this study, participants completed self-report

measures of parenting style and academic goals related to

their child. The following measures were presented to

college mothers by way of a questionnaire. The specific

measures may be found in the appendix. The Parental

Attitudes Questionnaire-Revised (Reitman, Rhode, Hupp, &

Altobello, 2002) was utilized in measuring mother's

parenting style. In addition, there were various methods

employed to evaluate mother's academic goals for their

children. The most direct measure was the Parent Goals for

Child (adapted from Midgley et al., 1998), which assessed

the extent to which mothers endorsed learning or

performance goals for their child. The Indirect Teaching

Strategies Scale (adapted from Ricco et al., 2003)

addressed homework assignments involving math problems and

assessed the extent to which mothers used indirect guidance

and supported self-paced learning. Likewise, the Process

Focus and Person/Product Focus Scales (Ricco et al., 2003)

examined the extent to which mothers emphasized the

importance of the learning process and of performance

factors (respectively) when evaluating their child's

schoolwork. In addition, the School Success/Feedback

21

Ranking (Ames & Archer, 1987) measured mothers' preference

for learning-based or performance-based information about

their child's schoolwork. With the exception of the latter

measure, each of the measures required participants to

specify the extent to which they agree with the statements

provided by way of a 5-point scale that ranged from "not at

all" (1) to "very much" (5). The reliabilities provided

below are based upon the sample used in this research.

Parental Attitudes Questionnaire-Revised. This is a

3Q-item measure (Reitman, Rhode, Hupp, and Altobello, 2002)

of several defining features of Baumrind's three parenting

styles: Authoritative Style (9 items; a =. 82) - emphasis

is on parental use of reasoning and explanation, the

involvement of children in the decision-making process, and

the overall importance of providing rational assistance and

guidance for children. Authoritarian Style (10 items; a =.

77) - emphasis is on the parent as the main decision-maker

for the child and on the use of authority and power to

induce strict obedience and conformity. Permissive Style (9

items; a = .73) - emphasis is on the importance of parental

non-interference and of respect for children's autonomy.

Two of the original items were dropped (from the

Authoritative and Permissive scales) due to the fact that

22

they would significantly lower the internal consistency of

the scales. The score range for Authoritative style,

Authoritarian style, and Permissive style is 9-45, 10-50,

and 9-45 respectively. A higher score indicates a strong

endorsement of the style described in the statements for

that scale.

Parent Goals for Child. This is an 18-item measure

that assesses the academic goals that a parent prefers for

her child. It is adapted from the Midgley et al. (1998)

goal orientation scales and consists of three subscales - a

Learning or Mastery Goals Scale (6 items; a = .78) and two

Performance Goal Scales - Performance-Approach (6 items;

a = .80) and Performance-Avoidance (6 items; a = .85).

Individual items are completions of the stem, "I hope

that....". Learning goal items consist of statements that

endorse activities leading to or involving learning or

mastery of a skill (e.g., "...my child prefers schoolwork

that he/she can learn from, even if it means making a lot

of mistakes"). Conversely, performance items consist of

statements that would stress the importance of getting

positive feedback and praise (Approach) while avoiding

negative feedback (Avoidance) on academic tasks (e.g., "..my

child wants to be the only one who can answer the teacher's

23

questions." "...the main reason my child does his/her

schoolwork is to avoid looking stupid to the teacher").

The score range for Learning goal, Performance-Approach

goal, and Performance-Avoidance goal is 6-30, 6-30, and 6-

30 respectively. A higher score indicates a strong

endorsement of the type of goal assessed in the statement.

Scores for the Performance-Approach and Performance-

Avoidance scales were combined for the analyses in the

present study. This is because the theoretical framework ■

for this research does not distinguish between approach and

avoidance,.

Indirect Teaching Strategies Scale. The extent to

which mothers subscribe to the use of homework assistance

strategies that involve indirect guidance and support of

self-paced, discovery learning are assessed by way of a 10-

item scale (a=0.'73) (Ricco, McCollum, and Schuyten, 2003).

While other scales employed in this study are worded in a

general way such as might apply to a number of academic

domains in the mothers' or child's educational activities,

the Indirect Strategies Scale addresses homework

assignments involving math problems. This content is

selected because it presents an opportunity for a parent to

employ a wide range of strategies in assisting her child

24

and because it allows for a clearer description of

individual strategies. These strategies include encouraging

the child to reflect on the approach she has been taking,

helping the child to break the problem down into a series

of steps, and restating the problem in familiar, everyday-

terms (see the Appendix for individual items). The

instructions will ask participants to imagine that their

child has come to them for help on a math problem.

Participants indicate how likely they are to provide the

kind of help described in the statement by using a 5-point

scale ranging from "not at all likely" (1) to "very likely"

(5). The score range is 10-50. When negatively worded items

are reverse-scored, higher scores indicate a greater

reported likelihood of using an indirect strategy.

Process Focus Scale. This is a 10-item measure (Ricco,

McCollum, and Schuyten, 2003)(a = .70) that examines the

extent to which a parent focuses on the attributes of the

learning process in considering their child's schoolwork.

These characteristics include the importance of effort and

the method or strategy employed in performing the tasks,

the role of challenges involved to support the learning

process, and the experience gained from mistakes and

errors. Each of the items will consist of a statement

25

describing one or more of these characteristics of learning

(e.g., "I'd like the teacher to see the mistakes my child

makes on his/her homework so the teacher appreciates where

my child needs help." "With good study habits and hard

work, almost any child can develop a solid understanding of

the subject matter.").-The score range is 10-50. A higher

score indicates more of a process focus.

Person/Product Focus Scale. This 12-item measure

(Ricco, McCollum, and Schuyten, 2003)(a = .72) examines the

extent to which a parent focuses on their child's

performance in terms of tangible results that exemplify the

child's intelligence in academic activities. The individual

items refer to the participant's child and assert the

importance of achieving positive outcomes (e.g., good

grades) and avoiding negative outcomes (mistakes on

schoolwork) or ascribe performance outcomes to the child's

natural ability rather than to effort, preparation, or

approach (e.g., "Trying your best on schoolwork doesn't win

many points with me if the outcome is still a poor grade."

"My child's success at school is the result of his/her

natural ability."). The score range is 12-60. A higher

score indicates more of a person/product focus.

26

School Success / Feedback Ranking. This measure was

developed by Ames and Archer (1987) to examine a parent's

focus on learning and performance aspects with respect to

their child's schoolwork. The task consists of two parts.

The first part asks the participants to rank five criteria

of success at elementary and middle school in terms of

their relative importance to the parent. The criteria are

getting good grades, performing as well or better than

other children, behaving well, working hard, and showing

improvement. The second part of the measure asks

participants to rank order six forms of feedback about

their child. These feedbacks consist of grades on tests and

homework assignments, performance relative to other

students, appropriateness of behavior, performance relative

to norms, amount of effort being expended, and progress or

improvement. The criteria of success and the types of

feedback that concern effort or hard work and progress or

improvement is considered learning items while the

remaining types of criteria/feedback are considered

performance items. The learning items from parts one and

two were reverse-scored such that a higher ranking of these

items by a participant is now reflected in a higher score.

The performance items were not reverse-scored and so a

27

lower ranking of the performance items also contributes to

a high score. A single, composite score was then generated

for the task by averaging across the eleven items from

parts one and two. The composite score reflects the extent

to which a participant favors learning over performance

with respect to their child's school activities. The higher

the score, the more learning factors took precedence over

performance factors for that participant.

28

CHAPTER THREE

RESULTS

An initial series of correlations was conducted to

determine whether any potential confounds are operating in

the study. Results indicated that none of the demographic

variables in the study (e.g., mother's age, family income,

age of child reported on) were related to either of the

parenting style measures (r-values ranged from .02 to .09)

For this reason, no control variables were included in the

regression analyses reported below.

Relation of Parent Goals to Parenting Styles

As an initial test of the hypotheses, a series of

correlations was conducted of the various parent goal

measures with each parenting style (authoritative,

authoritarian). Results are presented in Table 1 and are

generally consistent with the hypotheses of the study.

Authoritative parenting was positively related to the

adoption of learning (mastery) goals by mothers, their use

of a process focus, and their endorsement of indirect

homework assistance strategies, and was negatively related

to mothers' adoption of performance goals and the use of a

29

product focus. Thus mothers who described themselves as

more authoritative in their approach to parenting were more

likely to choose learning goals over performance goals and

more likely to focus on the learning process rather than

performance outcomes in evaluating their child's

schoolwork. They were also more likely to endorse indirect

assistance strategies in helping their child with homework.

Authoritarian parenting was positively related to the

adoption of performance goals by mothers and to their use

of a product focus, and was negatively related to their

success/feedback ranking. Thus mothers who described

themselves as more authoritarian were more likely to choose

performance goals for their child and to adopt a product

focus in evaluation. They also preferred performance-

oriented school feedback about their child.

30

Parenting Style

Table 1. Correlations of parent goal measures with parenting style

Parent Goal Measures Authoritative Authoritarian

Learning goal .34** -.10

Performance goal _. 29** .33**

Process focus .41** -.11

Product focus -.28** . 42**

Indirect strategy .48** -.04

Success/Feedback ranking . 06 -.23*

*p< 0.01 **p<0.001

Regression Analysis of Parenting Styles

In order to assess the relative importance of the

different goal measures as predictors of parenting style,

two stepwise regressions were conducted. Although parenting

style is conceived of as an influence on parents' goals for

their child in this study, data analyses will treat

parenting style as a criterion and the various measures of

parent goals as predictors. In this way, the number of

correlations can be minimized and error accumulation

31

controlled.

The full set of goal measures was regressed first on

authoritative parenting and second on authoritarian

parenting. Thus the predictor set for each regression

consisted of mothers' learning goal score, performance goal

score (approach and avoidance scores combined), process

focus score, product focus score, indirect strategies

score, and school success/feedback ranking. A stepwise

procedure was employed such that the order of entry for the

predictors was determined empirically rather than

theoretically. Results indicated that the use of indirect

strategies, fi = .34, p < 0.001, and the adoption of a

process focus, ft = .23, p < 0.002, were both positively

related, and the adoption of performance goals, fJ = - .26,

p < 0.001, was negatively related, to authoritative

parenting, R2 = .34, F (3,148) = 24.82, p < 0.001. Thus,

mothers' learning goals and adoption of a product focus,

though significantly related to authoritative parenting,

were redundant predictors and did not gain entry into the

model. Results for the regression on authoritarian

parenting indicated that the use of product focus, ft = .35,

p < 0.001, was positively related to authoritarian

32

parenting, R2 = .12, F (1, 150) = 20.94, p < 0.001. For this

regression, mothers' adoption of performance goals and

their preference for performance-related school feedback

were redundant predictors. In general, more aspects of

mothers' goal orientation were independently important

predictors of authoritative parenting than of authoritarian

parenting.

I

33

CHAPTER FOUR

DISCUSSION

Summary of Results

Prior empirical studies have suggested that parenting

styles are linked to levels of achievement and learning in

children (e.g., Ames et al., 1987; Chen et al., 1997;

Gottfried et al., 1994; Gonzales et al., 2001; Gonzales et

al., 2002; Grolnick & Ryan, 1989). Specifically, the use of

authoritative parenting is associated with children's

school success while the use of authoritarian parenting,

particularly in Caucasian populations, is associated with

more problematic academic performance by children (Ames et

al., 1987; Chen et ail., 1997; Gonzales et al., 2001). The

present research was designed to establish the mechanisms

by which parenting styles/practices might influence

learning and achievement in children. The specific

mechanism proposed in this study concerns parents' academic

achievement goals for their child, which, it is claimed,

are engendered by a particular parenting style.

Ricco et al. (2003) noted that the academic

achievement goals college mothers adopt and exhibit in

interacting with their child are reflected in the child's

34

goals (Ames & Archer, 1987). In particular, mothers with

more of a learning goal orientation with regard to their

own education showed a greater involvement in their child's

schoolwork, maintained a process focus in evaluating their

child, and endorsed indirect teaching strategies (Ricco et

al., 2003). Their children, in turn, were more positively-

disposed toward learning. Mothers having more of a

performance goal orientation as college students maintained

more of a product focus with their child and were less

likely to use indirect teaching strategies. Their children,

in turn, were more likely to adopt performance goals at

school. Thus, not only is parenting style linked to

learning and achievement in children, but also parents'

achievement goal orientation is linked to children's own

achievement goals. This strongly suggests that parents'

goal orientation, particularly with respect to their

child's academics, is the mechanism by which parenting

style may influence children's achievement at school.

It was expected that college mothers who describe

themselves as using a more authoritative style of parenting

would be more likely to adopt a learning goal orientation

with their child. This orientation should be evident in

their: 1. choice of learning goals over performance goals

35

with respect to their child's education, 2. tendency to

prefer a process focus and the use of indirect assistance

strategies in interacting with their child, and 3.

preference for learning-oriented feedback and criteria of

success. On the other hand, college mothers who report more

of an authoritarian parenting style should be more likely

to adopt a performance goal orientation with their child.

This orientation should be evident in their: 1. choice of

performance goals over learning goals with respect to their

child's education, 2. tendency to prefer a product focus

and the use of more direct assistance strategies in

interacting with their child, and 3. preference for

performance-oriented feedback and criteria of success.

Stated in terms of correlation-based analyses, it was

expected that mothers' use of authoritative parenting would

be positively related to their endorsement of learning

goals, a process focus, indirect strategies of assistance,

and learning-oriented feedback, and would be negatively

related to their endorsement of performance goals and a

product focus. It was also expected that mothers' use of

authoritarian parenting would be positively related to

their endorsement of performance goals and a product focus

and negatively related to their endorsement of learning

36

goals, a process focus, indirect strategies score, and

learning-oriented feedback.

The present findings provide some indirect support for

the claim that parent goals are the mechanism linking

parenting style to children's school achievement.

Specifically, these findings show that mothers' academic

achievement goals for their children are associated with

the mothers' child rearing style. Mothers' use of an

authoritative parenting style was positively related to

their adoption of learning goals with respect to their

child, as evident, for example, in their use of a process

focus and indirect homework assistance strategies, and was

negatively related to their adoption of performance goals

and their use of a product focus. Moreover, mothers' use of

an authoritarian style was positively related to their

adoption of performance goals, as evident in their use of a

product focus, and was negatively related to their

preference for learning-oriented feedback about their

child.

Parents' achievement goals for their child, evident in

the way they evaluate their child and assist their child on

academic tasks, can influence the child's own academic

goals and achievement motivation (Dweck & Elliot, 1983;

37

Dweck & Leggett, 1998; Gonzales et al., 2001; Ricco et al.,

2003). Parents approach collaborative tasks with their

children differently depending.on the parent's goal

orientation. Their teaching strategies and the types of

evaluation they make and the feedback they provide depend

upon their goals for their child (Renshaw & Gardner, 1990;

Ricco et al., 2003). One can propose-that the relationship

between parent's goal orientation and children's goal

orientation is due to the fact that students are motivated,

in part, by the particular focus or interest the parent

takes in the child's schoolwork (Gonzales et al., 2002).

Through their goal orientation, parents are sending a

message about the significance and importance of academic

tasks.

Some parents interpret their child's school

assignments as an opportunity for their child to employ

better learning strategies, select challenging tasks, take

self regulated approaches, explore or discover, and process

information deeply through strategies such as elaboration

and organization (Gonzales et al., 2001') . The application

of a process focus by parents in providing praise and

guidance has been linked to the development of learning

goals in children (Ames & Archer, 1987; Chen et al., 1997).

38

Previous empirical work (Dweck & Elliot, 1983) indicates

that parents who adopt a process-oriented approach act more

as resources rather than judges and place more emphasis on

the learning journey rather than the ‘outcome while

responding to errors as natural and useful, rather than

undesirable, occurrences. These parental attitudes can

influence the child's perceptions of her intelligence and

ability when experiencing performance setbacks (Kamins &

Dweck, 1999). Such parenting practices may predispose and

induce children toward learning goals (a repertoire of

mastery skills that increases through perseverance and

effort) rather than performance goals (intelligence and-

ability is revealed though performance) (Dweck & Elliot,

2983). On the contrary, some parents interpret performance

outcomes as a direct measure of their child's intelligence

and ability and interpret academic success in terms of

meeting normative standards and gaining social acceptance

(Chen et al., 1997; Dweck & Leggett, 1998). This adoption

by parents of a person/product approach to feedback will

promote and encourage the development of performance goals

in children (Dweck & Elliot, 1983; Kamins & Dweck, 1999).

The present findings show that parent's academic goals

for their child, and their related attitudes toward their

39

child as a student, are tied to parents' style of

parenting. The same parents who embrace and highlight the

importance of exploratory-learning, and stress the value of

self-pacing and personal mastery rather than achieving

tangible results (Ames & Archer, 1987; Ricco et al., 2003)

are the parents who take time to explain rules and

guidelines and welcome their child's input when making

decisions. An indirect teaching approach accentuates and

places greater responsibility on the child in the same way

that encouraging children to question rules and provide

input to decisions does (Ames & Archer, 1987). On the other

hand, parents who utilize a direct teaching approach when

providing homework assistance or that focus on performance

standards and products are the same parents who employ

authoritarian practices (Ames & Archer, 1987) such as

placing emphasis on strict obedience, discouraging early

autonomy, and being overly protective or concerned with the

developmental progression of their children (Renshaw &

Gardner, 1990).

The findings from this study suggest that parenting

styles/practices and attitudes are associated with parents'

learning and performance goals for their children. The

academic achievement goal orientation adopted by parents

40

and the approach that they employ in interacting with their

child over schoolwork appears to be a function of their

broader parenting styles. In turn, parents who interpret

learning outcomes as the result of hard work, academic

engagement, and learning to master new skills are promoting

learning goals in their children. On the contrary, parents

who view performance outcomes as a measure of intelligence

and who view school as an opportunity to get good grades

and meet normative standards are not promoting learning in

their child.

Limitations and Future Directions

This study does have several limitations that future

researchers should address. First, and perhaps most

importantly, is a concern over subject sophistication. The

participants in the current study were primarily from

psychology classes and they do not adequately represent the

general population. Some studies have demonstrated that

psychology students behave differently from naive

participants in psychological experiments. Certain effects

that cannot found by using naive participants may be found

by using psychology students. Secondly, the sample

consisted of mothers only. The way that fathers view

41

academic achievement, learning, and performance may be

different from those of mothers (Grolnick & Ryan, 1989).

Therefore, the results of this study cannot be generalized

to the male population. Third, the study is merely

correlational and so it is difficult to establish that

parenting goals are, in any sense, the result of parenting

styles. With additional data collection, however, it would

be possible to employ structural equation modeling and to

test causal models. Finally, it should be noted that the

data were collected using self-report methods.

Corroboration of the findings using observational methods

would strengthen the conclusions.

In future studies it would be interesting to conduct

this research by using gender as one of the independent

variables. This design would make it possible to see if

there is a significant difference between mothers and

fathers in the relationship between parenting style and

parent goals for their child. A most obvious follow-up to

the present study would be to replicate it with the

inclusion of children and to test for the full set of

relationships claimed in the present study. That is, can

evidence be obtained that shows both the relationship

between parenting style and parent goals as well as the

42

connection between parent goals and children goals? Again,

in this regard, with a sufficient sample size, causal

models could be tested.

The results of this study can be the basis for several

recommendations to educators. Teachers should be encouraged

to de-emphasize the importance of grades, test scores, and

other performance measures. They need to make learning more

interesting and stress discovery-based, self-paced aspects

of learning. This becomes particularly important in light

of the focus on performance standards as part of the "No

Child Left Behind" policies. Such policies may lead both

teachers and parents to focus on "correct answers" rather

than understanding. In addition, the present results make

clear the need for teachers and other educators to replace

authoritarian classroom management styles with more

authoritative styles.

43

APPENDIX A

PARENTAL ATTITUDE QUESTIONNAIRE SURVEY

44

Parental Attitudes Questionnaire

For each of the following statements about parenting, circle the number on the 5-point scale that indicates HOW MUCH YOU AGREE with the statement. Please respond to each statement with respect to children in the elementary school years (ages 6 to 12).

not at all not very much somewhat pretty much very much

1 2 3 4 5

____ 1. In a well run home, the children should have their way in the family as often as the parents do.

____ 2. Even if children don’t agree with their parents, it is for their own good if they are forced to conform to what the parents think is right.

____ 3. When a parent tells her children to do something, she is entitled to expect them to do it without asking any questions.

____ 4. Once family policy has been established, a parent should discuss the reasoning behind the policy with the children.

____ 5. Parents should encourage verbal give and take whenever their children feel that family rules and restrictions are unreasonable.

____ 6. Children need to be free to make up their own minds and to do what they want to do, even if this does not agree with what their parents want.

____ 7. Once a parent has made a decision, she should not allow her children to question it.

____ 8. Parents should direct the activities and decisions of the children in the family through reasoning and discipline.

____ 9. Parents should use more force (than they typically do) in order to get their children to behave the way they are supposed to.

____ 10. A child shouldn’t obey rules and regulations of behavior simply because someone in authority has established them.

____ 11. Parents should make clear to their children just what they expect of them, but they should also allow the children to discuss those expectations with them if they feel they are unreasonable.

45

12. Wise parents should teach their children early just who is boss in the family.

13. A good parent seldom gives her children guidelines and expectations for their behavior.

14. In making family decisions, parents should do what their children want.

15. Parents should give their children direction and guidance in rational and objective ways.

16. Parents are entitled to feel angry if their children try to disagree with them.

17. Most problems in society would be solved if parents would not restrict their children’s activities, decisions, and desires as they are growing up.

18. Parents should let their children know what behavior they expect from them, and if those expectations are not met, the children should be disciplined.

19. A parent should allow her children to decide most things for themselves, without a lot of direction from the parent.

20. Parents should take their children’s opinions into consideration when making family decisions, but they should not decide for something simply because the children want it.

21.1 don’t view myself as responsible for directing and guiding my children’s behavior.

22. Parents should have clear standards for their children but should be willing to adjust those standards to the needs of each individual child in the family.

23. parents should provide direction for their children’s behavior and activities, but should be willing to listen to their children’s concerns and to discuss that direction with them.

24. A good parent allows her children to form their own point of view on family matters and to decide for themselves what they are going to do.

25. Most problems in society would be solved if we could get parents to strictly and forcibly deal with their children when they don’t do what they are supposed to do.

26. Parents should often tell their children what they want them to do and how they expect them to do it.

46

27. A parent should give clear direction for her child’s behaviors and activities, but should also understand when her children disagree with her.

28. Parents should not direct the behaviors, activities, and desires of the children in the family.

29. Parents should insist that their children conform to the parent’s expectations simply out of respect for the parents’ authority.

30. If a parent makes a decision that hurts the feelings of her children, she should be willing to discuss that decision with them and to admit it if she made a mistake.

47

APPENDIX B

PARENT GOAL FOR CHILD SURVEY

48

Parent Goals for Child

The following survey asks you to think about your wishes or hopes for your child. Each statement below is a completion of the stem, “I HOPE THAT... ”. Please use the scale below to tell us HOW MUCH YOU AGREE with each statement.

not at all not very much somewhat pretty much very much1 2.3 4 5

I HOPE THAT...

____ 1. my child prefers schoolwork he/she can learn from - even if it means

making a lot of mistakes.

____ 2. my child wants to be the only one who can answer the teachers’ questions.

____ 3. the main reason my child does his/her schoolwork is to avoid looking

stupid to the teachers or other students.

____ 4. the main reason my child does his/her school work is because he/she likes

to learn new things.

____ 5. my child wants to do better than the other students in class.

____ 6. the main reason my child does her schoolwork is to avoid embarrassing

himself/herself.

____ 7. my child prefers schoolwork that really makes him/her think.

____ 8. my child cares whether or not the other students at school think that he/she is

good at schoolwork.

____ 9. the main reason my child does his/her schoolwork is so the teachers

don’t think he/she knows less than others.

____ 10. the main reason my child does his/her schoolwork is because he/she wants

to get better at it.

____ 11. my child feels successful when he/she is doing better than most of the other

students.

____ 12. one reason my child would not participate in class is to avoid looking

stupid.

49

13. the main reason my child does his/her school work is because he/she is

interested in it.

14. my child wants to show his/her teachers that he/she is smarter than the other

students.

15. the main reason my child does his/her schoolwork is so others won’t think

he/she is dumb.

16. the main reason my child does his/her school work is because he/she

enjoys it.

17. doing better than other students in school is important to my child.

18. one of my child’s main goals is to avoid looking like he/she can’t do his/her

work.

50

APPENDIX C

PROCESS FOCUS AND PERSON/PRODUCT

FOCUS SCALES SURVEY

51

Parent Evaluative Focus (Process Focus and Person/Product Focus Scales)

Below are a number of statements concerning your child’s school and homework. Please use the following scale to indicate HOW MUCH YOU AGREE with each statement.

not at all not very much somewhat pretty much very much

1 2 3 4 5

____ 1. It is important to me that my child get better grades than the other children at school.

____ 2.1 don’t expect my child to work very hard at a subject that he/she just isn’t good at.

____ 3.1 would rather see my child working hard than getting good grades.

____ 4.1 feel like a failure when my child doesn’t do as well as the other kids at school.

____ 5. My child’s success at school is due to hard work and having the right attitude.

____ 6.1 want others to think that my child is smart.

____ 7.1 would like the teacher to assign homework problems that my child will learn a lot from, even if he/she won’t look so smart.

____ 8. With good study habits and hard work almost any child can develop a solid understanding of the subject matter.

____ 9. When my child struggles or makes mistakes on homework assignments, I sometimes wonder whether he/she has the ability to do well at school.

____ 10. My child’s success at school is the result of his/her natural ability.

____ 11. Its much more important to me that my child learn things at school than get good grades.

____ 12.1 would like the teacher to assign homework problems that aren’t too hard, so my child doesn’t get many wrong.

____ 13. Even when my child gets the right answers on his/her homework, I check to make sure he/she really understands why the answers are right.

52

14. If I find a mistake on my child’s homework, I might correct it myself before the teacher finds it.

15.1 think that showing improvement is more important than getting good grades.

16. It is important to me that my child turns in homework that doesn’t contain any mistakes.

17. Children can improve their ability considerably when a parent regularly works with them on their homework.

18.1 might give my child extra homework problems so I can be sure he/she really has a good grasp on the lesson.

19. Trying your best on schoolwork doesn’t win many points with me if the outcome is still a poor grade.

20. I’d like the teacher to see the mistakes my child makes on his/her homework so the teacher appreciates where my child needs help.

21.1 know how much my child has learned by looking at his/her grades.

22. Even if a child is failing in a subject they can still improve to the point where that might become there best subject.

23. Although I hate to admit it, I sometimes would rather my child did well in a class than learn a lot.

24. A child could receive a poor grade for the term in a subject and still have learned and understood quite a lot in that subject.

53

APPENDIX D

HOMEWORK ASSISTANCE SCALE SURVEY

54

Indirect Assistance Strategies Scale

Imagine a situation in which your child comes to you for help on a math problem that is part of his/her homework assignment for the next day. The statements below each describe ways in which you might help your child. Use the following rating scale to indicate how likely you are to provide the kind of help described in the statement.

not at all not very likely somewhat likely pretty likely very likely likely

1 2 3 4 5

____ 1. Tell my child how to solve the problem and then watch to make sure he/she does it correctly.

____ 2. Try to get my child to think about the approach he/she is taking on the problem and what the limitations of that approach might be.

____ 3. Find another problem just like it in the book and have my child watch me asI demonstrate how to arrive at the correct answer.

____ 4. Tell my child to skip this one and let the teacher show him/her how to do it during school.

____ 5. Try to guide my child through the problem by breaking it down into a series of steps.

____ 6. Show my child how this problem is similar to others that the child already knows how to solve.

____ 7. Give my child the correct answer so they can finish their homework and get credit for doing it.

____ 8. Provide some hints or suggestions and see if my child can do the rest for himself/herself.

____ 9. Take the problem and restate it in terms of some situation that is familiar to my child from his/her daily life.

____ 10. Show my child a trick or simple way to do this kind of problem that will give him/her the right answer even though he/she may not understand why its right or why the trick works.

55

11. Ask my child to show me what he/she has been doing so far to try and solve the problem.

12. Tell my child where in his/her book or other materials it explains how to do this kind of problem and have him/her read it and try again.

56

APPENDIX E

PREFERRED SCHOOL SUCCESS AND

FEEDBACK SURVEY

57

Perceptions of School Success

Here are five aspects of student behavior. Please rank order their importance for doing well in elementary school. Place a ‘ 1 ’ next to the aspect that you consider most important to success, a ‘2’ next to the aspect that you consider the next most important to success, etc.

____ Getting good grades.

____ Showing improvement.

____ Working hard.

____ Behaving well (getting along with others and following rules).

____ Doing as well as or better than others in class.

Preferred School Feedback

Progress reports, report cards, and parent-teacher conferences yield feedback of various kinds about your child. Below are several different types of feedback that schools provide to parents. Please rank order their importance for you as sources of information about your child. Place a T next to the type of feedback that you consider most important, a ‘2’ next to the feedback that you consider the next most important, etc.

____ My child’s grades on tests and assignments.

____ My child’s performance relative to other children in the class.

____ How much progress or improvement my child has made.

____ Amount of effort my child is making.

____ How well-behaved my child is (getting along with others and following rules).

____ Performance relative to norms that have been established for my child’s grade or age.

58

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Ames, C., & Archer, J. (1987). Mother's belief about the

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of Educational Psychology, 19, 409-414.

Balli, S. J., Demo, D. H. , & Wedman, J.F. (1998). Family

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